Starlight
by Artemis615
Summary: Loki is banished to Earth by the Allfather after he wreaks havoc on Earth. Set in Thor, but it does not have to do with the movies of Thor 2 and Avengers and Avengers 2. He roams the street in rags for months, and he stumbles into Starlight, Phaedra Sterling. Loki admires her again and again for her beauty and her charming qualities, and starts to fall for her. LokiXOC.
1. Pearl Garden

**1 – Pearl Garden**

"**You are hereby banished from Asgard, Loki Odinson…**" the All father said to him, and it is the last word he heard of his father's voice before he is sent swirling down the Asgard's rainbow bridge.

He fell to the earth with a loud thud, and he groaned from the strange feeling it sent up the back of his spine. It was pain, and he is bleeding.

He chuckles. _So this is pain_, he thought to himself, and spits out the blood in his mouth. It's blue in color, but it changes to red after it hit the ground.

_I am becoming human…_ Loki thought to himself. He tested his powers, and it sparked a little before dying down. _I am powerless…_

He walked out of the place and finds himself in a small village. His clothes are mundane clothes, simple and rough, like a potato sack. He is barefooted, and he is dirty. He needed a bath, but where to find a grand bathhouse fit for a prince?

Oh, he forgotten… he has been banished… now he is just a mundane human…

A powerless human.

For months, he roamed the streets. Over time, his godly aura disappears, and he started to feel hungry. He searches for food, and found them.

But they need this thing called 'money' and 'gold' to buy food... Gold? Wasn't gold something that is used for accessories? Don't they use cash? Dollars? Yen? Or whatever it is that the human world uses?

Unless...

Unless he is not in the human world.

He looked around him, and finds himself staring into those strange people. Their auras felt different. Unlike those of a human, and vibrates with a very strange vibe. He did not like it.

It made him feel... strange.

He roams the street, and sometimes, he would eat the food thrown out from the restaurants, leftovers of those people who had dined inside the restaurants. He ate them, and he would hide his face behind his hair. He did not want anyone to recognize him. Not in this state anyway.

Sometimes, he would cried himself to sleep by the back alleys. His sleeping place is everywhere, so long as there is a few boxes and newspapers. He is barefooted, and his foot would be frozen cold by the time he woke up in the morning.

And that is the time when he would go out again to search for some food.

Long gone is his pride for food. He is hungry. And if he ever wanted to gain back his powers and go back to Asgard, he would have to make do with whatever he could do with for the moment. And for now, it is food. And a safe place to sleep for the night.

There is a boy in the streets. Just like him, the boy is barefooted, and is dressed in boy had the brightest green eyes, and has pale skin and red lips.

Despite having lost his powers, Loki can still sense things and otherworldly things with his senses. The boy is not human.

Not human.

Then what is he?

The boy would held out his hand, and sometimes, by passers would drop a dime or a gold piece in his hand. And over time, he begun to learn.

He would squat down by the roadside, and hide his face behind his now long and dirty hair. He would stretch out his hand, and passersby would drop money in his hand. It is not much, but it will do...

Then, as he stood by the opposite road, a lady dressed in a red cloak came by to him and offered him a loaf of bread. The boy grabbed the bread and wolfed it down. He swallowed and salivated at the sight of the bread.

"What is your name, child?" the lady asks the boy. The boy munches on the bread and looks up at the lady.

"M-Michael…" the boy said to her. "Michael Fray, my lady... thank you… for the bread…"

The lady squats down and pulls down her hood. She has shining black hair, and fair rosy skin. Her lips are painted in red color, the same color with her red cloak, and in her hair, braids after braids of rose pearls decorated her hair in heaps of French braids.

She is beautiful.

"Where is your parent's, child?" the lady asks him in a bell-like tone. So sweet, like honey, and that scent…

Loki took a deep breath.

It was lilies.

He salivated again. It smelled so soft, gentle and delicious.

Yummy.

"Where do you live?" the lady asks him. "Do you have a home to go back to?"

The boy shakes his head. "My parents died… the war craft dropped a bomb… my house disappears in a flash… I usually just sleep in the back alley, but there are dogs there, so I just sleep here by the roadside…"

The boy shuffles his legs shyly, and the lady took out a handkerchief and wipes his dirty face.

"Do you want to come home with me?" the lady asks him. The boy's eyes brightened rapidly.

"Really!?" the boy said excitedly.

"I am Phaedra… Phaedra Sterling," the lady said to him, and held out her hand for him to hold. The boy reaches out to her, and is saved by her. "I am Duchess of Memphis. I watch over the histories of the world, and write them in great volumes. I am also the Ambassador of the great Kingdom of Avice, the kingdom of forever and of eternity. You will come and live with me in my Pearl Garden, which is the most beautiful mansion in the whole world, even more beautiful than the Palace of the Great King, the Golden Palace, and I will care for you…"

The boy started too wept sadly. Phaedra squatted down and wipes his tears away.

"Why ever do you cry, boy?"

"I… I am happy… I am happy, my lady… you saved me… you saved me… waaaaaaa!" the boy cried, and Phaedra smiles.

Phaedra turns around and smiles at a man dressed in a butler outfit.

"William," she calls the butler, and the butler places his hand on his chest and bows to her. She smiles, and turns around to look at the other person who is loitering on the streets in rags.

Him.

She looked at him straight into his eyes, and walks to him. He quickly squatted down, and looked at the ground.

He raised his hand up into the air, begging for money from by passers, hiding his face behind his long hair. And soon, the red cloak of the lady came and blocked his view.

Like the boy, she offered him bread and a bottle of what seemed like juice. His stupid instinct had his arms stretched and grabbed the food from her hand, and he gobbles them down quickly in the hopes that this is not just a dream.

It is winter time. The snow fell hard, and for the first time ever, he felt cold. His bare feet is almost frozen with the snow, and he kept shuffling his legs from left to right, like the little beggar boy.

The little beggar boy.

And he himself is also a beggar now…

His long hair fell in dirty gunk, and it covers his face. His fair skin is riddled with dirt, and he is dressed in rags. In rags! He is a prince, and yet he is dressed in rags!

Then he felt something warm draped on him. She had draped her red cloak on him, and she had does it by upturning her cloak, and the insides of her cloak are black in color. She herself is dressed in a thin dark blue dress with lace that covers her shoulders that trails down to her wrist in a wide long sleeve. Looking up with his mouth full of bread, the beautiful lady had squatted down and wrapped both of her arms around her and stares at him with a soft and gentle smile on her red lips.

Her beautiful red lips.

And oh, those gorgeous set of silvery eyes…

Silvery eyes, with a hint of emerald green and gold flecks around her irises.

So beautiful…

He smacked the thoughts away from his mind.

"What is your name?" Phaedra asks him and wiped a bread crumb from the corner of his lips. He balked, and she withdrew her hand. "Are you alone? Do you have a home to stay?"

He shakes his head. He continues to eat the bread and drank the juice quickly. He choked on the juice, and he coughed violently.

"Slowly, slowly…" the lady said to him, patting him on his back to ease his discomfort.

"What is your name?" she asks again, and gently tries to lift him up by his hand. He stood up, and he follows her to her car waiting nearby. The boy is in there too, and the boy is waiting for her to come back to the car. Her butler is waiting, and he is opening the door for her.

"…Loki…" he said to her, and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Loki?" she said to him, her eyes wide with surprise and curiosity. "Loki? As in the God of Mischief? Loki Odinson?"

He ponders on telling her the truth, but the Allfather have sealed his abilities to speak of his status and his real identity to the world. The word is stuck in his mouth, and he couldn't speak.

"Just Loki…" he said to her after a while, and she smiles.

"Well, Just Loki," she said to him. "I am Phaedra Sterling. I will bring you home with me, and you shall stay with me henceforth."

She leads him to the limousine waiting at the side of the road, and into the car they go.

The ride is long and quiet. Loki looks out of the window in fascination. He had never seen such beautiful display of trees before. The trees stretch long and wide, and it lines up the small road that leads to where the lady had said is her mansion.

Snow fell heavily, and soon, they arrive. The lady ushers the boy and Loki into her mansion, and there, Loki looks around his surroundings.

Everywhere, there are pearls that decorate the walls and the pillars. Huge dark pearls, and purple and pink and white pearls. It is beautiful.

And it is warm.

So very warm.

"Welcome to the Pearl Garden…" she said to them with a smile, and leads them to the lobby. There, another butler is waiting for them.

"He is Sebastian. He will take care of you from now on…." Phaedra said to them, and Sebastian leads them up to the stairs.

There, Loki and the boy are given a bath and clothes to wear. After they have finished dressing up, the butler leads them back down the stairs to meet her in the dining room.

"My, you boys look rather good after a good bath and after you're done dressing up…" she said to them, and patted the tables beside her. "Come here," she said to them with a gentle smile. "Sit with me. We are going to have dinner together…"

Dinner is served, and Loki ate to his fill that day. He gobbles up the food as much as he can, and so does the boy, Michael. Phaedra smiles at them, and pushes her plate of food to Loki.

"You can have mine. I can't eat that much anyway…" she said to him with a smile, and cross her hand and places her chin on her hand.

Loki gobbles up the food, and finishes up everything with the boy, Michael.

Then the great door burst and in came two little twin boys.

"Phaedra!" they exclaims happily. Phaedra stood up and hugs her brothers.

"Oh, you are back… how is school?" she asks them, and they giggles at her.

"I assume it is good then!? Alright, here, let me introduce to you. This is Michael, and that is Loki…"

"Hello Michael, Loki…" both of them chimed, and they giggle up at them.

"They are my twin brothers, Peter and Edward. Be nice to Loki and Michael now, alright?" she said to them, and they giggles up at her.

William leads the boy up to their room, and came back down to lead Loki and Michael to their room.

"The night is late… go to your room to rest now, alright?" Phaedra said to Michael and Loki, and leads them out of the dining hall. "I shall be retiring to my chamber as well. Rest well. We have an early day tomorrow… goodnight…"

With that, she disappears down the hall into a grand golden door. Loki stares at her incredulously.

Here he is, in the great mansion of the Pearl Garden. He had heard of the magnificent Pearl Garden from passersby, and is told to be one of the most beautiful places on earth. It truly is, now that he came to admire it. Every corner of it is decorated in bright shining pearls, and the walls are painted in a soft romantic rose pink color, with a hint of golden sheen on it.

He couldn't believe his luck. He had been roaming the street for months, and here he is, in the grand mansion of the Pearl Garden, and being fed food and given clothes and shoes to wear. He did not felt pity at all from her, but a sincere heart to help out those who needed her.

Somehow, he is grateful to her. Were it not of her, he might have died of starvation out there in the streets. As a prince, how could he die as a beggar?

As a prince, how could he accept help from a mere human?

But he could sense that she is not human.

No, not entirely.

Then what is she?

He will find out someday.


	2. Library

**2 – Library**

He dreamt again.

When he is a beggar, he used to dream of Asgard.

But gradually, the dream changes.

_The world is falling down, and he is standing in the middle of the Pearl Garden. _

_The pearls have all came out from their seals on the stones and the pillars, and glows in such light that it shoots up into the sky and forms a barrier of sort around the city. _

_But it breaks. _

_Like glass, it breaks apart, and fell down onto the earth. It disappears, and it became silver dust. He touches them, and knew what they are. _

_Stardust. _

_He looks up, and saw the stars are falling down to the earth. And there is no way he could stop it. _

_The Kingdom is dying…_

_Suddenly, he felt a cold blade ran into him. He looks down, and there in the centre of his chest, is a glowing green sword. _

_He fell, and he bleeds blood. Bright red blood. _

_He is dying. _

And he woke up.

He sat up on his bed and swipes his long hair to the back of his head. He sweats, and he sighs.

He had been having the same dream for a few days now. He used to be able to control his dreams, and he used to be able to travel between dreams freely. Now that he lost his powers, he couldn't control them.

And his dreamscape is falling apart.

He sighs again and gets out of the bed. Now that he noticed, he is sitting in a magnificent room…

A beautiful room…

The room is painted in a rich golden brown color, and the paintings that decorated the walls are elegant and classic. The bed is a mahogany king sized bed, with dark red drapes surrounding the poles and a couple's seat at the end of his bed. His cupboard is open, and in there, there is a walk in dressing room filled with clothes. He sums it to himself that he had forgotten to close it yesterday.

He picked out a set of shirt and took a shower to wake himself up. After he is done, he went out of his room.

And stumbles into the lady from yesterday.

"Good morning, Loki!" Phaedra said to him with a wide beautiful smile. She is blindingly beautiful today, with strings of silvery white pearls weaved into her long, long braid that trailed behind her small back till the small of her back and an emerald long dress that compliments her skin tone. There is a string of pearls around her forehead, and she is beautiful. "How was last night's sleep? Are you fine with the room?"

"T-the room is marvelous, thank you," Loki said to her, stuttering slightly when she gets too close to him. He stepped away, and coughed. Phaedra smiles.

"Come. Breakfast is ready…" she said to him, and dragged him to the dining room by his arms.

There, Michael is already being fussed by William. He patted the little boy's head and smiles, then he moves on to Peter and Edward, and fusses on them as well.

"Your Grace…" the butler calls on her, and slides the chair for her to be seated upon. They also slide the chair for Loki, and he sat on them.

"Today's breakfast is Ceaser salad, half-boiled eggs, toast, scones, and pancakes. There is also orange juice, milk, Earl Grey Tea and White Coffee…"

"Scones, and Earl Grey Tea…" she said to him, and the butler nods his head.

Loki helped himself to the food on the table heartily. Since the lost of his powers, he has been so hungry that he could eat a meal of ten people. Phaedra stares at him in amazement as he wolfs down the breakfast like a hungry man.

"Slow down, Loki… there's many more food…" she said to him, and asks the butler to prepare more food for him.

"Why would you want to save us?" Loki asks her suddenly. She stopped eating, and stares at him.

"What is it?" she said to him.

"Why do you want to save us?" Loki asks her, and looks at Michael. Michael had his mouth stuffed full with food, and his cheeks bulged with it. He looks at her wide eyed, afraid of her kicking him out of her home after being kind to him for one night.

She smiles.

"Dear Loki," she started. "I have a gold mine and a Geode mine worth billions in one single mining. I have a huge manor all to myself and only two butlers and two maids and one gardener. There are 10 rooms in this manor, and I have another three vacation houses and cottage in the mountains, Paris and London. I have so much money and wealth, and I practically live forever. Why won't you let me help you, Loki?"

"You live forever?" Loki asks her, his eyes wide with surprise. "You live forever?"

Phaedra smiles. "I am half Night Walker, half Starlight. My parents are of a different species, both of whom have eternal lives if they were to be alive right now. My siblings as well, live forever. We won't die easily with the power of starlight in us…"

"Starlight…" Loki said to her. "Starlight…"

Phaedra smiles. She stood up and her siblings follow her. Loki took it as a cue that he is to follow her as well, and follows suit.

"Michael?" she said to the young boy. Michael looks up at her with his big eyes staring at her. "You will go to the academy with my brothers now. This is your first day at the academy, so bring this letter with you and give it to the Director…"

She gave him a sleek golden envelop with a star emblem on the back of the letter. Michael took it and smiles up at her.

"Thank you, Your Grace…" he said to her, and he is bundled into the car by William with Phaedra's other siblings.

"Well, now all that is left is you, Loki…" she turns around and said to him. She smiles widely at him, and points a finger at him.

"Follow me, I'll show you something…"

He follows her, having nothing else better to do. She leads him through the corridors, and there are impressive paintings of men and woman on the walls.

"These are the previous heads of the Sterling family…" Phaedra said to him. "They've passed on now already, of course, for some reasons. I never understand why or how they could have died when they have the power of starlight to live forever…"

"All your ancestors are starlight?" Loki asks her. She nods her head and smiles at him.

"They all are…" she said to him, and opens a grand door and leads him into possibly the largest library he had ever seen in his life.

He sighs at the scent of old books. Oh, books, books, and books! There are so many of them. Rows after rows, and shelves after shelves. There is even a huge astronomical stand by the corner of the room's ceiling, and on the ceiling's wall, there is a painted universe, and the stars up on the ceiling shines brightly, and it moves as if it were real galaxies.

"The finest library in all of Avice…" she said to him, and smiles at him brightly. "I can see you are a book person, Loki. These are all yours to read to your fill, provided you help me with something once in a while."

Loki contemplated for a moment. "Are you telling me to do things?" he said to her in a steely tone.

She laughed out loud.

"No!" she exclaims with a hand over her hand. "No, no, no. I am not trying to tell you to do things. I was just asking, if you would help me to do some things once in a while. I am a woman, and I can only do so much as the Duchess of Memphis..."

Loki crosses his arms and stares at her. She stares back defiantly, and there was such fire in her eyes that he himself thought that it looked rather becoming on her.

Her steely silvery eyes seemed to swirl with the emerald green and gold flecks in her eyes. It is a wonder to be able to stare into such unique colored eyes, and he never knew that they would be so beautiful.

So beautiful.

And so beautiful…

He shakes the thoughts off his mind and smiles at her.

"Alright then. What is the catch behind it?" he asks her with a wide grin. She smiles.

"Oh, well, just some paperwork now and then and accompany me to go patrolling in the mines and the streets. Children like Michael are roaming the streets, and I wanted to bring them home…" she said to him, and her eyes are sad when she said those.

Loki cocked his head to the sides. "Why would you want to save them? They are nothing…"

Phaedra smiles. "I will do what I can for my people. It is the least I can do for them as the Duchess of Memphis…"

Loki begun to read the books in the library that very day. He wanted to find some useful things on how to get back his powers, and to do so, he had to be equipped with the knowledge to do so from the human world. Since she is starlight, someone who is not human, he sums it to himself that she might have some strange sorcery books hidden in the library.

And when Phaedra saw him reading 'Magic for Dummies', she smiles widely at him.

"You like sorcery books, I see?" she said to him, and he looks up at her through his eyelashes.

"That is none of your business…" he snapped at her, and flipped a page. The book provides useless information, and he read it because he thinks that maybe at the end of the page it will give him some useful things instead of things like how to unlock the door with a stupid 'Alohomora' spell.

Does Alohomora spell even exist? He shakes his head disbelievingly.

"Well, I have a whole section of old sorcery books over there. You might as well read it over there. I have a reading chair there. You'll be more comfortable sitting there…" she said to him, and leads him to the shelves with the sorcery books. He stood up quickly and follows her.

True to what she had said, there are tons of sorcery books, and each and every one of it is real. The old books are musty, but nonetheless clean and real. It is real sorcery books, real!

"Wherever did you get these?" he asks her, flipping one book open. The spell of unlocking the third eye, the spell of making one invisible, the spell of making one becoming a frog, the spell of becoming a transparent human. Everything is in here!

"My ancestors collect them from witches and gypsies. These are valuable books, so please take care of it well, alright?" Phaedra said to him, and he stares with amazement at the books. Phaedra smiles, and walks away from him.

That day, Loki spends his whole day in the library. Food is brought into the library, and he ate it while reading the books. The books are fascinating, and he learns everything in one single glance. He tries to flex his powers, and he could feel it coming back to him in torrents.

He is getting his powers back.

But he waited. He waited his powers to recharge at full swing, and then he is out of here.

For now, he shall stay here, and read all the books in her library. Truly, the library is a beautiful place to behold. So many books and so many useful information. He longs to stay here forever, and read and read and read forever.

Soon, it was midnight. He stretches and holds the book to him, placing it back to its proper place and strokes the bindings of the books. The sorcery books are a real deal, and he couldn't have found it anywhere else in the world except here. He knew it, and he smiles.

He went down to the library stairs and saw a small light at the corner of the library. He approaches it and saw Phaedra slumbering peacefully on a pile of paperwork. She had a small smile on her lips, and her long lashes caress her cheeks in a gentle way.

He held out his hand and strokes her hair. He had no idea what prod him to do so. He just did. And she is beautiful.

So soft, and beautiful.

And suddenly, she moves.

He quickly stepped back and coughed. She woke up and stretches herself by lifting her hand high into the air and stretches her back.

"Oh gosh… how long have I slept?" she said to him, rubbing one of her eye with her hand.

She looks adorable when she do that…

And Loki smacked his head.

"Loki?" Phaedra calls him and stood up with a concerned look on her face. "Are you alright? Why do you hit your head like that?"

Loki bit his lips. "I… thought of something…"

Phaedra gave him a skeptical look. "Thought of something?"

"I… thought that I can teach the boys some things useful…" he said to her quickly, and she blinked her eyes.

Her large silvery eyes.

Beautiful.

And he bit his lips again. Just how many times is he going to admire her!?

"You wanna be their tuition teacher?" Phaedra asks him.

He shrugged his shoulders. "In a way. I am a philosopher before I… became what I am today. I can teach the boys everything I know… and it would be my lodgings fees along with food and clothes and everything else."

"Everything else?" Phaedra chuckles and leads him out of the library. "What do you mean by everything else?"

"Well… useful things like cash, shoes, books, and access to your library at all times…" he said to her. He had both of his hands clasped behind his back, and his new boots made some smart sounds on the floor. He liked it.

"Alright," she said to him with a smile. "Whatever you wish for, it is granted. Teach the boys all you know, and, well, don't teach them the bad ways and swearing words."

Loki slapped a hand on his chest. "I swear on my words… Goodnight, Your Grace…"

"Loki, you are a guest here, and now, you are the children's teacher and private tutor in a way. You might as well just call me Phaedra."

Loki watches as she enters her chamber, and she smiles at him while she closes her door.

And that smile is so sweet.

And it lures him into her.

_What a minx,_ he said to himself. _A very beautiful minx…_


	3. Snow

**3 – Snow**

The next day, Loki accompanies Phaedra to the outskirts of the mansion. The road is harsh and long, and it is bumpy and uncomfortable. He closes his eyes and wishes he is back at the mansion at the library. The library is so warm and so full of books, and the scent…?

They are wonderful…

A little like lilies, and a little like honey as well. Sweet, musky…

Like Phaedra…

He blinked his eyes. Phaedra?

He shakes his head, getting her out of his mind.

They soon arrive at the said destination, and Phaedra is escorted out of the car by William. She surveys the scene in front of her, and pulls up her bright red hood to cover her hair.

"Come, Loki," she said to him and smiles graciously at him. "Let's go find some children…"

They walked for a long while with William the butler following behind them. For a long while, they search for any orphans or any beggar child by the roadsides.

And soon, they found another one. And another one. And another one.

They huddled together in the cold snow, and rub their small legs and arms. They are barefooted.

"My," Loki said to her. "There are quite the numbers of children here…"

Phaedra smiles sadly. "The war has just finished. It is harsh, and many were left homeless. I wanted to save the children. They are our future hope of ever salvaging another generation's worth of diplomacy and governing the kingdom. I would send them to the Academy, and they would study there. They would become our next generation."

She walks on, and she sighs sadly. "As you've known, I am starlight. I can live forever, possibly, well, I don't know and am not sure about this since none of my ancestors live past 2000 years old…" she shrugged her shoulders and continued. "The rest of the kingdom's residence is mixed. There are Night Walkers, in another version, its vampires. Witches, Vampire Hunters, Spirits, Ghouls, Goblins, Fae and Faeries… even elves…"

"This world is connected to what you would know as the present real world. New York, London, Paris. This world is another world that you could enter through portals scattered all over the present world. Once, an evil witch has a travelling mirror. A gallant knight fought with her, and he won. In the process, he destroys her mirror, and that mirror pieces is thrown all over the world-" she said to him, and raises her arms into the air and swipes her hand into the air magnificently with an excited expression on her face. "-and it created the portal. Humans come and go as they please once they found out of the portal. They can choose to stay with us with a special visa, and they can choose to go back via the same portal. We cannot remove or close the portal, because it requires dark magic beyond our imagination, and the evil witch, now dead, is the only dark witch powerful enough to control a mirror as big as that…"

"The Kingdom will not be standing still if I have not been gathering children for the past 300 years…" she said to him, and walks to the children standing in a small group, huddling together to get some warmth. "I am starlight, and I will keep the kingdom going on if it is all it takes for me to do anything, and anything at all…"

She took out a brown paper bag of buns for the children, and the children swarmed around the food.

"Slowly, slowly, everyone has one, alright?" she said to the three children. Two of them are twins, while the other one looks as if he had been thoroughly hit and bruised. He sported a black eye mark and a dried bleeding nose, and also a split lips that is swollen to such degree that it looked a little like hotdog.

"Whatever in the world happened to you boy?" she said to the young boy that looked no older than 8. The other twin boys look as if they are 4 years old. She grasped the boy's chin gently and turns his head side to side, and found that his ears have a laceration wound to it. It is bleeding and oozing pus, and he would scratch at his ears occasionally.

"… We…" the boy started, and looked at his twin brothers. The little twin brothers bit their lips, and continue to stuff the buns into their little mouth.

"... We are beggars…" the boy said to her, tears falling down his face. "… The people don't like us… and they used to kick us or punch us whenever they liked…"

The little boy bawled while he ate his buns. Phaedra patted the boy's back soothingly. The boy sobbed and ate his buns in relish.

"Thank you, kind lady. Thank you… for giving us food… thank you…" the three children said to her, and bow to her for her kindness. Phaedra smiles and asks them to stand up.

"Do you want to come home with me?" she said to them, and their eyes bulged wide open.

"I have a huge mansion with me. There are many empty rooms. I will send you to the academy, which is known as the Stardust Academy. It is the finest academy in the whole wide world, and I am the Grand Head Director of that Academy. You will come and stay with me in the Pearl Garden, which is the most beautiful mansion in the whole world, even more beautiful than the King's Golden Palace…"

The boys follow her and they walked to her sleek limousine, where William is already waiting with the doors open. Loki follows her as well, and trudges behind the boys. The boy's legs are so short. They had to run and walk to catch up to Phaedra. They would stumble a little, and they would run again to Phaedra. And he chuckles.

For once, he thought that they are adorable.

"I am Phaedra Sterling. I am the Ambassador of the great Kingdom of Avice, and Duchess of Memphis. I watch and write over the Histories of the world, and I will bring you home with me. You will go to the Stardust Academy as new transfer students, and you will never go hungry again," she said to them, and held on the hands of the twins. The twins bawled, and so does the older child.

They were ushered into the car by William, and they drove back to the Pearl Garden. There, they are showered and bathed by Sebastian, and given food and a bedroom. The older boy's wounds are cleaned and thoroughly bandaged, and he no longer scratches at his ear. The three children joined Michael and two of Phaedra's younger twin brothers, Peter and Edward in the dining room, and there, they introduces themselves.

"M-my name is Noah…" the older boy said to her, his short brown locks now silky smooth compared to their previous messy locks of bird nest. His eyes are a peculiar shade of purple, and Phaedra knew he is not a human child.

"I'm Arthur…" the older twin said. He had longer blonde hair, and his eyes are bright green.

"And I'm James…" the younger twin said to her in a high pitched child voice. He had shorter blonde hair, and his eyes are a marine blue.

"What are you?" Phaedra asks them gently. They looked at each other and rubbed their small feet against their other feet.

"Noah's a Nymph, Your Grace…" James said to her in a small voice. "Arthur and I are Night Walkers…"

"Are you going to throw us out, Your Grace?" Noah said to her with his eyes wide open. "Please don't throw us out… please… we have no home…"

Phaedra laughs heartily. It was a nice sound, and Loki seems to like to hear it.

And he bit his lips again when he thought of just how nice her laughter sounded.

It was like the bells that one hears during morning, and like honey, and like a wind chime, and like the first autumn's wind that blew soothingly over the land.

She is everything.

"No, sillies," she said to them and patted their heads softly. "Why ever would I want to throw you out?"

"B-because…" Noah said to her. "They said that Nymphs are thieves… and they steal food from the villagers…"

Phaedra smiles gently at them. "The world is harsh, child. Nymphs would steal food would have meant that the world is going down, and that food is scarce. They would never steal if the food in their habitat is ample. They are prideful creatures, and they would do anything to survive, and still retain their pride, so don't worry much and just be happy children here in my Pearl Garden, alright?"

That day, Phaedra orders the tailor to come by. She also orders the shoemaker to come by her Pearl Garden. Both of the makers took the boy's measurements, and in the same time, they also took Phaedra's twin brother's measurements. They are growing up fast, and their clothes barely fit them anymore.

Loki, too, receives new clothes. She had prepared for him earlier, seeing as he is an average adult and that his clothes could be bought anywhere. Most of his clothes are high quality sheep's fleece, and cotton and silk. He loves his new clothes.

New shoes and clothes are made in the shortest amount of time. Boxes of them are delivered to the Duchess's home, and the boys are overjoyed with the new items. The twin brothers of Phaedra ran and disturb William who helped carry the towering number of boxes in both of his arms, and he spins comically and fell down with the boxes all over him. The twin's giggles much, and it prodded the rest of the shy children to laugh as well.

They tried on the clothes, and Phaedra smiles at them.

"Alright, I'll leave you boys here to try on your new clothes. I will be downstairs working, alright? We'll see each other during dinner time…" she said to them, and departs from their room. The children bow to her and said their thanks to her, and continue to try on their new clothes.

"Can you help me with some paperwork, Loki?" she asks him while they walk down the stairs. He smiles at her and gave her a bow.

"Of course. What is it to be?"

Phaedra stopped walking. She stares at him with a strange sort of expression, and Loki is stunned.

"What is it?" he asks her.

"You speaks in such strange language sometimes…" she said to him. "What are you…?"

Loki bit his lips. He couldn't possibly tell her that he is the Loki the God of Mischief? How on earth he is going to explain to her?

"I… am…" he started, and his voice is stuck in his throat. "I'm… I'm…"

Phaedra held out a hand to stop him.

"It's alright if you can't say it. Maybe someday you'll tell me when you are ready. I am in no rush to know of your true identity…" she said to him, and walks into the library. Loki follows her, and held his throat with his hand.

Phaedra shows him her lifework, and he begun to work wonders to her papers. He shows her how things works, and imparts some of his knowledge on her. She is amazed with his vast knowledge in accountancy, magic, spells, and other things. He even knew the strategies to protect a kingdom from harm, and where to put the soldiers where the palace and the kingdom are most vulnerable.

With his bits of magic, he wrapped a paper plane and imbues some of his magic on it. The paper floated up, and it flew all over the place in the library. Phaedra is amused, and clapped her hands happily.

"Oh, it flew! It flew! This is amazing!" she said to him, and clapped her hands excitedly. Loki smiles at the sight of her bouncing in her seat in happiness at the sight of the flying paper plane, and he made it burst in the air.

Phaedra gasped, and the paper plane burst into snowflakes.

"Oh, it's so beautiful!" she said to him, and begun to dance underneath the snow.

Her long braided hair and her pearls that are braided into her hair flows around her following her body movement. She spins around happily underneath the snow, and Loki stares at her.

She is so beautiful, so beautiful.

And so kind.

In his darkest moment, she came to him. She saved him, no questions asked, and gave him food and clothes. He is grateful for her, grateful for her being there to save him. And he smiles.

He wanted her.

Hell, that thought just zooms into his head, but he wanted her alright. She is so beautiful, so kind, so pure, and so…

So…

So Starlight.

_So like a star,_ he thought to himself. _She is so like a star…_

That night, the rest of her children and brothers came back from the Academy in their adorable uniform. It is dark blue in color for the younger ones, and green for the older ones. Phaedra's brothers are the same ages with the twins, while the older child, Noah, is dressed in dark green color with a red ribbon on his white collar. They ran to her and hugged her.

"Phaedra!" they screamed at her. The other adopted children also start to call her Phaedra following the twin brothers, and she is fine with it. She did not like them calling her 'Your Grace' either.

"Brothers, children," she hugged them, and they giggles happily. "Done with your classes I see?"

They nodded their head at her. She smiles.

"Go take your dinner then. I will come by soon enough…" she said to them, and they ran into the dining room and giggles happily.

"They've settled down, I see…" Loki said to her, coming by to stand by her side. She is so very short, and coming only up to his shoulders. Her body stature is slim and her breast is two huge orbs, almost overflowing out from her dress. There is the nice cleavage in the middle of her breast, and he salivated at the sight of them.

Her hair is donned up yet in another elegant French braided bun that rests softly at the nape of her neck. Strings of pearls are braided into her hair. Today, it is lilac colored pearls. Lilac colored pearls are so very rare in the world. It is very valuable, as far as he knew about it. There is another string of it that ran across her forehead, and braided deep into her hair, disappearing into the bun in braids after braids.

She is wearing another lace dress today. It is golden yellow in color, and the laces covers part of her shoulders, chest, and trails down to her arms. The dress shimmers whenever she moves and twirls, and she is beautiful.

So beautiful.

"Yes," she said to him with a smile. "They've settled down…"

"And how are you with their presence here in the Garden?" he asks her, and she turns around to look at him.

Phaedra admires Loki in great ways. He is good looking, charming, and very cheeky. He would have a grin on his face whenever he teases her, and she would smile at him sweetly. She often caught him staring at her with his mouth gaping slightly, and she would smile to herself.

Loki is a very handsome man, and so very charming with the boys and her as well. He is brilliant in everything he does, and she couldn't help but to admire the man for his wisdom.

"I am fine with them. They are my children, and two of them are my blood brothers. I love them…" she said to him with a small smile, and Loki felt in his heart that she is telling the truth.

She truly loves them… she loves them with all her heart…

But what about him?

He, too, came with the boys… what about him? What does she feels about him and his presence here in the Pearl Garden?

Loki's hand stretched forward with a mind of their own and brushes a stray strand of hair from her face. He froze when he found out just what he had done, and stares at her large silvery eyes staring at him openly.

"T-there is a stray strand of hair… blocking your eyes…" he said to her, and withdrew his hand awkwardly. She smiles at him graciously.

"Thank you," she said to him. "Come, let's go and have dinner with the children…"


	4. Weaving Barrier

**4 – Weaving Barrier**

With the coming of spring, the ice melted outside, and flowers blooms again. The air is once again warm, and bees and butterflies came out to fly freely in the garden of the Pearl Garden. The flowers in the Pearl Garden bloomed, and Loki notices that each one of it has a pearl within its centre.

The butlers and the maids would gather these pearls in their woven baskets, and it would then be placed in the middle of the lobby of the Pearl Garden.

"Whatever do you need these for?" Loki asks Phaedra. She gave him a mischievous smile and places one finger on her lips.

And he fell.

He fell hard for her, and he is in love with her.

In such a short amount of time, he fell for her.

As if it was love at first sight…

"You will know it when you see it…" she said to him softly, and stood in the middle of the lobby, with the woven baskets filled with pearls surrounding them.

She calls upon the power of starlight, and it is midnight. The dark skies made it easier for the stars to shine brightly down on her, and shine down on her it did.

It came in a sudden dazzling halo, and it surrounded her with amazing and mind blowing powers that he never imagined it could exist on such places.

And he is amazed.

The power of starlight shines on her, and the whole ground vibrated with the sheer power of the starlight. She started to float, and her hair – which is down for the moment – flows behind her like a river of black dark silk.

A gleaming black dark silk.

And its tendrils wrapped around her in such ways as if to caress her gently and passionately. Her eyes are closed, and she is glowing with power.

With power.

Loki licked his lips.

"She is weaving a barrier spell…" Phaedra's brothers, Peter and Edward said to him.

The two brothers are fond of Loki in ways that no one could understand. Loki used to tell the children bedtime stories full of wars of Asgard and the gods above the skies. They were fascinated with such stories, and would always beg him to tell them stories of Asgard.

And to his utmost delight, they loved the God of Mischief, Loki, more than Thor.

"He is so powerful!" little Edward said to him excitedly. "He has magic! And he can fly!"

"Well," Loki said with a smile. "He can make fire out of nothing as well…"

"Really!?" the children chimed. They screamed in excitement when Loki nodded his head with a smile. "We love magic!"

The children went to sleep soon after, and he tiptoes out of their bedroom quietly.

And stumbles into Phaedra smiling at him widely.

"You are good with the children…" Phaedra said to him.

"Well… they are children, and children believe everything an adult told them… including stories and legends…" he said to her. She turns around and bids him goodnight.

"Legends and stories have their origins, and they are not just myth. They are real…" she said to him, and retreated back to her chamber.

"Weaving a… barrier spell?" Loki said to them curiously. They nodded their small heads adorably.

"How is it so?" he asks them. They are glad to spill information's to him, since he is their most beloved storyteller of all times.

"She weaves them using the pearls that grew out of the flowers in the Pearl Garden…" Peter said in his small childish voice. "It will protect us from everything evil outside of the Pearl Garden…"

"Evil?" Loki tensed up. Evil in the Pearl Garden? How dare them…

"Yes…" Edward said to him with his huge eyes staring up at him from below. "Evil is out there, Loki… We starlights live forever with the power of starlight in our soul and our blood. The evils out there wanted the power of starlight, and would try to catch us. I saw granddaddy got kidnapped right in front of my eyes by the evils out there… and he is dead when we found him. His starlight powers are gone…"

"Gone?" Loki repeated the word, squatting down to see himself on eye level with the boy. "How is the starlight power gone?"

"Gone… like… gone…" Edward said to him, confused with his meanings.

"Not just gone, you idiot!" Peter chided Edward. "Gone, he means how is it gone, moron!"

Peter turns to Loki and said to him, "The power of starlight in us is an everlasting glowing piece of star. Once extracted out of us, we will die. That's why granddaddy is dead, because his starlight power is gone. The power of starlight grants one eternal life, Loki. Eternal life and a life full of loneliness if used in the wrong ways…"

"A life full of loneliness, huh?" Loki said to himself, and smiles at the boys.

She soars up to the air and closes her eyes; her hands are spread by her sides. She raises her hand, and the pearls in the woven baskets follow her leads.

She dropped one arm on her sides, and leaves one hanging in the air. She brought her hand to the front and started to move her forefinger, drawing a circle of sort into the air.

Then slowly, the pearls began to spin in front of her in a whirlwind of pearls. They flew to the pillars, and are embedded deep within the pillars and the grounds. Loki could feel a strange sort of barrier coming over him in a dome shape, and he is amazed.

Thoroughly amazed.

She came down from the air and landed on the ground softly. Her hair billowing all around here and the same goes for her dress. She is wearing another emerald dress today, and it is silk and, like her usual styles, there are laces all over her shoulders up till her wrists.

_She is beautiful_… Loki thought to himself, salivating at the sight of her rosy lips.

Her hands came to rest at her sides, and the barrier is complete.

She sighs and smiles at her brothers and children, and they came screaming at her happily and hugged her.

"Phaedra, you are so wonderful!" Edward said to his sister. She smiles.

"Thank you, Edward…" she said to him and patted his head.

Phaedra sends William to get the children and her brothers something to eat for their supper. The butler bows at her with one hand on his chest and departs from her presence.

"So that is you weaving barriers?" Loki said to her.

She smiles.

Oh, that blindingly beautiful smile…

"Yes. I am the only one who can do it. My brothers are not old enough to do so. I am the sole protector of the Pearl Garden…" she said to him, and tucked a strand of dark locks behind her ear.

And Loki thought that it is a sexy act from her.

A sexy act from Phaedra.

And he stares. And stares. And stares.

And hopes she will do it again.

"Loki?" she calls him. "Loki? Are you alright?"

Loki blinked quickly. "I-I am fine…" he stuttered, and suddenly, something happened.

A flash of the future. And a flash of blood.

War.

He saw Phaedra. She is running towards him. Her long, long hair billowing behind her. And she is beautiful.

Her face, a look of panic stricken person, and shock.

And blood.

_Loki…_

Someone is calling him.

_Loki… wake up…_

She has such a sweet voice, he thought to himself, and he grabbed the person's hand.

_Loki… Loki… Loki…_

"Loki!" Phaedra exclaims, and he woke up with a start.

He is slumbering on the floor of the lobby, and Phaedra is staring at him from above. Her hair surrounds his face in a dark curtain, and her lips are so close to his.

So close…

"Are you alright?" she asks him, her expression frantic and anxious.

Loki blinked.

"What happened?" he asks her. He realizes that he is lying on the floor. He sat up, and rubbed his head.

"You… passed out…" Phaedra said to him. "You just… passed out. Just passed out."

"I…" Loki started. "I… passed out?"

"Apparently so…" she said to him. "Are you alright?"

She helped him up, and he stood up on shaky legs. She helped him into his room and places him on his bed.

"I think you should rest…" Phaedra said to him, and helped him with his blanket covers. He settles into the bed and closes his eyes.

He watches her walk around his bed and draws the curtains close. She returns to him and smoothes his hair back to his head.

"I will be nearby when you need me. Your room is just opposite to mine…" she said to him and smiles before she departs from his room.

That night, he dreamt another dream.

_Phaedra is caressing his hair in the gentlest way, like a mother ought to do for his son. He is lying underneath the sun, and basking in its warmth with her. _

"_Loki… tell me what you are…" she asks him, and he sits up. He looks into her silvery pair of eyes, and he couldn't lie to her. _

"_I am Loki Laufeyson…"_

"_Laufeyson?" she said to him in confusion. "Not Odinson?"_

"_Odin adopted me. Laufey is my father…" he said to her, and he bows his head down in shame. "He abandoned me. So I killed him. He threatened the peace in Asgard…"_

"_Loki…" she said to him, and pulls his head to face her. "Don't be ashamed of whom you are…" _

"_I am a monster…" he said to her, and he transforms in front of her. He had gotten his powers back through other means, and now he could flex his powers to his will. His skin turns blue, and she stares at him. _

_She smiles. _

"_I am a monster…" he said to her. "Why aren't you afraid of me?"_

_She palms his face gently and kisses his forehead. His blue skin dissolves, and he is human again. _

"_I've seen worst…" she said to him._

And he woke up.

And she is there.

Oh, her gleaming black hair in its signature bun of braids and pearls, and her magnificent lacy dresses. She wore a lilac colored one today, and she is beautiful.

"Loki?" she asks him, palming his face. "You are burning up…"

She places a clothe on top of his head, and he started to cool down.

"Phaedra…" he calls her. "Phaedra…"

"I'm here… I'm here, Loki…" Phaedra sooths him, and places a hand on his chest. He held her hand, and he stares at her.

He sheds a tear. He had never cried before, and even if he does, he never did it often.

And this is the first time he sheds a tear in front of a lady.

His tears slide down to his hairline and he whispers to her softly.

"Don't leave me…" he said to her. He had no idea what prompted him to say so. But he wanted her by his side.

She smiles and strokes his hair gently.

"I won't leave you. I am here to stay…" she said to him, and he closes his eyes back and sleeps.


	5. Stardust Academy

**5 – Stardust Academy**

Loki is well again the next day. He sums it to himself that maybe he had exhausted himself in his dreamscape, that's why he has the fever.

Phaedra had graciously taken care of him, and had stayed up all night just so that he would not feel alone. He had held her hand tightly in hers, and for that whole night, Loki is accompanied by her.

Phaedra asked the chef to prepare something nutritious for Loki, and he ate his food with relish. He could feel his powers coming back, and it is coming back in torrents. He felt powerful, and he is free…

But he did not want to leave.

No, not now anyway.

He still has a whole section of magical books to study. Human's magic varies so differently than magic in his realm, and he had learned so much more with the magic in the human realm. He becomes more powerful.

"Do you want to come to the Academy with me, Loki?" Phaedra asks him while drinking her juice.

She wore a burgundy colored dress today, with the white laces around her shoulders that reveal her collarbone. As usual, she is beautiful in her buns of braids and pearls in her hair.

"To the Academy?" Loki repeated.

"Yes," she said to him. "I will show you around the Academy, don't worry. I have some things and business to settle there for a while. I wanted to see the students there as well. Come with me. I promise you will have the time of your life there…"

"Oh really?" Loki said to her with a wide grin. "And how fun is the Academy?"

Phaedra smiles mischievously. "You'll know it when you see it…"

And when they've arrived at the Academy…

Loki's mouth gaped open. The whole Academy is made with red bricks, and it looked classic and old in an ancient sort of way. There are creepers and vines that ran up the building, and there is a huge water fountain of a lady holding a star in her hand in the middle of the Academy's grounds.

"Welcome to Stardust Academy…" Phaedra said to him, and the gates open to allows her and Loki to enter the grounds.

They walked in, and Phaedra guides Loki through the Academy. There are many small stalls at the back of the Academy, and many people are selling food stuff.

And it smells wonderful.

"Honey Cottons! Honey Cottons for sale here!" one man exclaims over the top of his voice. Phaedra walked to the man and asked for two Honey Cottons.

"Your Grace!" the man, surprised with her sudden appearance, dropped down to the ground and bows to her. "Oh, Your Grace! Your Grace!"

Everyone dropped down to the ground and bows to her. She asked them to stand up, and they all stood up gingerly.

"Y-Your Grace. You want Honey Cottons!?" the man said to her happily.

"Yes, two please…" she asks from him, and she paid the man handsomely.

"Oh, thank you Your Grace! Thank you!" the man bows to her many times, and she smiles.

"Here!" Phaedra gave Loki the Honey Cottons. They are shaped in a peculiar amoeba shape, and each one of it is different in shapes. "It's delicious! I promise it is nothing like you've ever tasted before…"

He took a bite gingerly into the Honey Cottons, and took more, and more, and more.

"This is good!" Loki said to her with his mouth full of Honey Cottons.

She smiles at him and bring him to eat something else.

"Chocolate cake! Chocolate cakes!" another woman exclaims over the top of her voice.

And off Phaedra buys two slices from her.

Loki wolfs down the cakes, and he watches Phaedra smiles at him innocently and widely with her teeth full of chocolate. It was such a hilarious sight. Her, the great Duchess of Memphis, have chocolate all over her teeth? He laughs heartily at her, and chokes on his cake, coughing violently into his cake. His chocolate cake flew everywhere, and Phaedra is alarmed.

"Are you alright?" she asks him, and patted on his back. He laughs at her, and pointed to her teeth.

She smiles.

It was a good time he had with Phaedra. Loki is not a happy child. In his youth, he had always watched sullenly as Thor gains his name again and again amongst the Asgardian, while he, the outcast, stares on with a melancholy look on his fair visage. He do smile, but always in a bad way, such as grinning widely when Thor fell down, or when he plays a trick on someone. He would snicker, and grin, and smiles smugly.

Never happily.

But with her, here, by his side, he would smile unknowingly, and would always and always smile happily, even laughing. He would bark out a laugh so loud sometimes he even surprises himself with it. Sometimes he would even laugh until he had no more noises to make, and would laugh silently in a mute laugh and he would hold onto his cramped stomach and continues to laugh until he is breathless.

She made him happy.

And he is now a happy man.

She brought him to the biggest aquarium in the whole kingdom, and there, he marvels at the underwater sea creatures. They are marvelous, and since he lives above the clouds, he had never seen underwater creatures before. They are so very exciting, and a sight to behold.

"These are wicked!" Loki said to her with a wide smile on his face.

"This is the largest aquarium and underwater sea life in the whole kingdom. We are proud to call it the Stardust Aquarium and Underwater Sea Life Display…" Phaedra said to him, and leads him to another section of the Academy.

"This is what it looks like above the pool…" Phaedra said to him, and shows him the marvelous lake view above the aquarium and underwater sea life display. "It is a huge lake above all those. This is also the recreational grounds for all the students to come here and take a rest. As you know, green is good for the eyes after a day of books reading."

Loki is fascinated with everything in the Academy. The Academy is well equipped with supermarkets, ice skating rings, a few igloos and snow halls, aquarium, food stalls all over the place, hospitals, cinema, fun fair, and many more fascinating things that Loki never had a chance to learn about when he is busy wreaking havoc on Earth.

"Come, Loki!" Phaedra said to him and pulls him to the fun fair. "I'll bring you to the funfair! It is fun!"

"A fun fair!?" Loki exclaims disbelievingly. "Really? A fun fair!? I thought that is where children goes!"

"We adults can go too!" Phaedra said to him with a wide smile on her face, and they ran.

Oh, how good it felt to run after so long. He felt freedom, and life.

And with her holding onto his hand, he felt more alive than ever.

More alive than ever.

Phaedra brought tickets for two and they played everything in the fun fair. From gun shooting targets to picking up balloons of balls from the water and earned something in return. Loki had the time of his life there, and he laughed happily whenever he had gotten something.

Phaedra and Loki won a lot of things from the fair, and they were happy.

Then she saw the Ferris wheel.

Naturally, she pulls Loki there, and they went riding on the Ferris wheel.

"This is the best part of the fair, Loki!" Phaedra said to him, and Loki sulked.

"What's there to play when we are here sitting and sulking?" Loki mumbles to himself. Phaedra smiles.

"Because there is magic here, Loki, and here it is…" she said to him.

The Ferris wheel arrives at the top most and most center part of the Ferris wheel. Phaedra shows him the magic of it all, and he came and looks with his eyes wide in surprise.

There, in the short moment when the Ferris wheel would pass by the most centre part of the Ferris wheel with their wagon, is the sun and moon becoming one in a way.

The Moon is overlapping on the sun, and he rubbed his eyes. How could it be so?

"This… Loki… is where magic came from…" Phaedra said to him with a smile, and looks at the moon and sun. "The moon and sun becoming one. You can only see it here in the top most wagons in the Ferris wheel. This is what makes the Ferris wheel of the Stardust Academy famous…"

It was like watching a magic show. One moment the sun is there, and the next the moon is in front of it. It is amazing, and he smiles widely.

"Beautiful," he said to her, and stares out at the moon and sun like a child. Phaedra smiles at him, and stares out at the sun and moon becoming one.

Becoming one…

They went back to the Pearl Garden with all the gifts from the fun fair. Phaedra's children and brothers swarmed around Loki and her and they grabbed the gifts from her hand. Phaedra smiles and shakes her head at the sight of her children and brothers sharing the gifts with each other.

"Thank you, Phaedra! Thank you, Loki!" the children and her brothers chimed happily. Loki patted the heads of Peter and Edward fondly and they ran screaming happily with the gifts in their hands.

"Be good now," Phaedra said to them. They giggled happily and play with the gifts they have gotten from Phaedra and Loki.

Then suddenly, a black crow flew into the dining hall and squawked loudly and flew on its giant wings. Loki ducked, and the crow flew to Phaedra's arms.

"Well, well," Phaedra said with a wide smile. The crow rubbed its small head against her hand, and Phaedra laughs. "You've finally decided to come back home, huh, boy?"

"Caw!" the crow cawed.

"And what is this?" Loki asks with an incredulous look on his face.

"He is Wind. He is my personal messenger…" Phaedra said to him, and took out the small paper on its legs. She lets him fly again, and he flew towards her brothers, and begun picking off sugar from their offered hands. The boys were delighted with the crow, and the crow would flap its massive wings and entertain the boys.

"Aren't personal messengers pet bird is… doves and owls?" Loki said to her.

Phaedra laughs. "Well, Wind is a crow that I've been with for a long time. He has proven to be good in what he does… I like him… He is 50 years old now. He is imbued with the power of starlight as well, since I saved him from the brink of death. And so, he lives on…"

That is what makes Loki interested. And he perked up at the sound of it.

The power of starlight.

Of all his life as an Asgardian, he had never heard of a thing like starlight. It was not something you heard on daily basis in Asgard. Sure, they have their own Athena and Pleiades and all, and oh, those Pleiades were such sexy whores…

_**Flashback. **_

_The girls on Loki's bed moaned when Loki moves his hips into their open legs. Three girls serve him, and they are all Pleiades. _

"_Master…" the girl Loki is fucking said with a sexy expression on her face. "Ahh! Master! No! Not inside! No! No!"_

_Loki came inside her, and he fucks the second girl quickly. _

_The rest of the girls sucked on his balls and pleases him. He loves the great feeling of climaxing in their bodies, and he manages to impregnate all three of them. _

_Pleiades gets pregnant easily and Loki kept on ejaculating inside them. Soon, their stomach looks as if they are seven months pregnant. _

"_No… no… Master… pleases…Not inside… not inside! Ahhh! Noooo!" the Pleiades begged him as he fucks her hard. _

_That day, they gave birth to three of his children, and all became new stars…_

_**End of flashback**_

"Loki?" Phaedra calls him, and he awakens from his little daydream. "Are you alright?"

"What is starlight actually?" Loki asks her, and she blinks her eyes.

Her beautiful set of grey silvery eyes.

Oh, he must have her soon…

Soon…

"Starlights?" Phaedra repeated the words. "Well, Starlights are… Starlights… They said the power of Starlights came from the stars, so those who have the power of Starlights are known as those who came from the stars. With it, we can reorder time once in our long life, or heal and bring back someone from the brink of death, and bend nature to our will…there are a few more, but there is so much that we can do that I don't really remember much…"

"You mean you don't have a chronicle or book those records what the starlight does?" Loki asks her.

Phaedra laughs.

"Do you wanna let the whole world know that you could reanimate dead people and bring them back to life from the brink of death? No… you keep quiet. The starlight allows us to live forever… well… not really forever… but for as long as we are breathing. None of my ancestors lived past 2000 years old, so I don't really know how long we can live…"

"We die easily. If the power of starlight is ever extracted out of us, we die. We are so in one with the power of starlight, and it is in our soul. It becomes our soul, and we can't live without it…" Phaedra said to him, and sighs deeply. "It is quite a burden to live with the power of starlight in New York and other places. People notices that we don't age, and they'll start to talk. I don't really like it, and it disturbs my family…"

She reads out the little note the crow brought her, and screams in delight.

"Steve is coming back!" she exclaims.

Immediately, her two brothers screamed in excitement and scrambles to read the letter.

"Who is Steve?" Loki asks Sebastian. The butler replies him quietly.

"Lord Steve is Her Grace's half brother. They share the same mother. He would occasionally come back from New York through the many portals there."

Loki nodded his head. Steve… he may look a little like her. He begun to imagine what kind of a man would be her brother… Hmm… might look a little like the boys…

And when he truly met him, he is really not someone he had imagined at all…


	6. Steve Rogers

**6 – Steven Rogers**

In the Pearl Garden, there is a special golden door in the centre of the lobby. He did not know what is inside, but today, Phaedra shows him.

"It is a door, but not a door. It is one, but not one either. And it is so useful, and yet so troublesome that we had to lock it all the time until someone with the right knock gave us the signals to open it…" she said to him excitedly, and Loki frowns.

"A door that is… not a door?" Loki repeated. Phaedra nods her head excitedly.

"A door that is not a door. This is not a simple door, Loki. You can't use it to enter rooms…" she said to him, and with a mischievous smile, she opens the door.

"You use it to open portals to the other world…" she said, and the cold wind of New York blew into the lobby and snow fell onto the floor.

And out came…

Steve Rogers.

"Phaedra!" he exclaims happily, and lifts her up clears off the ground and swings her around happily.

"Brother!" she exclaims, and out came Phaedra's brothers.

"Big brother!" they called, and hugged Steve's legs.

"Oww… hey, hey, hey! My little man is growing up!" Steve exclaims happily, and lifts up the boys clear off the ground and swings them around happily.

Until his eyes fell onto Loki.

"Loki!" he exclaims, and held his arms out to defend Phaedra.

"Brother, brother! He is a guest here… he is my new advisor, Loki…" Phaedra said to him, and Steven gave her an incredulous look.

"He is an evil man!" Steve said, and charges at Loki. He threw a punch at Loki's face, and Loki flew clear off the grounds and landed with the pillar behind him.

"Loki!" Phaedra exclaims. Her little brothers are afraid, and withdrew from the scene quickly and gather with the rest of the children.

"Phaedra, get away from that thing!" Steve said to her warningly. "He is a dangerous man."

"He is not, brother! Stop it!" Phaedra said to him, and reaches to Loki.

"Phaedra! Move!" Steve said, and launches in an attack.

Phaedra shielded Loki with her body, and Steve stopped his fist right in front of her face.

"Brother… listens to me…" she said to him, shivering slightly from the amount of anger from Steve and the fear she has for the man.

"Move!" Steve exclaims, and pulls her out of the way.

And suddenly, Steve couldn't move.

"Phaedra…" he said her name, and turns around only to see her floating with the power of starlight.

She is glowing with the power of the stars. As she floats, Steve could feel her trying to withdraw his fist, and Loki is amazed.

Steve is a strong man. The fabled Captain America and he is as tall a man as he is buff. He never could have imagined that she is his sister, and the same goes that he is her brother.

How could things be so coincident?

Phaedra, who hung in the air with the power of starlight, cries out a loud shrill scream, and Steve is thrown backwards into the wall.

She landed on the ground softly, and her starlight power disappears. "Listen, brother…" Phaedra said through her teeth, thoroughly angry now that her brother did not listen to her and instead choose to go all out on Loki. "Loki is my advisor, and is a guest and a friend here."

"You have no idea how dangerous he is, Phaedra," Steve started.

"How dangerous? He is but a man…" Phaedra started.

"He is Loki Odinson! The God of Mischief! The God from Asgard! He is the evil one here! Come here, Phaedra!" Steve said to her, and extends a hand out to her.

And Phaedra is shocked.

"Loki…?" she started. He stares at her. Her expression is beckoning, and she is beautiful. "Loki, is that true…?"

Loki was silent. He couldn't have said it to her or explain it to her even if he wanted to. The All father had prevented him from ever saying his identity to others…

"I…" he started, holding onto his throat. "I… I couldn't tell you… I…" he coughed, and held his throat. "I… I was afraid that… that…"

Phaedra walked closer to him and knelt down beside him. "That what…?" she said to him.

He looks up at her, and for the second time, he sheds his tears. His heart wrenches tightly, and he is sad.

"I was afraid that you wouldn't want me…" he said to her, and his tears fell faster.

"Oh, Loki…" Phaedra calls him, and gathers him in her arms. She strokes his head, and he cried in her embrace.

_And so the little boy fell into a sleep_

_The stars to watch over him, forever in a dream_

_One by one, it shines_

She sings a wonderfully beautiful note of song for him, and slowly, she started to glow.

It was like a lullaby, and it is beautiful. For the stars to watch over him forever in a sweet dream would be a wonderful thing to behold…

"Phaedra…" Steve mumbles her name, and his little brothers came to hold onto his legs.

"Loki is nice to us, big brother…" his brothers told him. "He is our friend…"

"He is evil…" Steve said to them and patted their heads.

"He never harms us…" Peter said to him.

"He told us stories and plays fighting swords with us… He is nice to Phaedra as well…She saves everyone here, and they are grateful to her. They would never harm her…" Edward said to him with his huge eyes looking up at him, and Steve melted.

_Rise up and open your eyes look into the beautiful world_

_Into that beloved face_

_Suspended from the earth in thousands of star lights and dreams_

_On the night when those silver eyes trembled_

_You were born, shining brightly like the stars_

_No matter how many prayers are made_

_It returns to the earth by the passing millions of years_

_That it took me to love…_

Steve watches with the rest of the children as Phaedra spins her starlight power to heal Loki. His bruises disappear, and his skin is whole and smooth again.

And so does his heartache.

Her starlight powers are marvelous. It could even heal a heartache, and takes away sadness. His tears dry up, and he is no longer sad.

He is happy in her arms, and he smiles at her, who sings for him.

_I shall continue to pray_

_No matter what, I will shower this child with love_

_And kiss on the hands upon the stars_

_I swear on the stars_

"I won't leave you, Loki… I promised, didn't I?" she said to him. Loki slowly stood up, and faces the Captain America breathing down his neck.

_Good God of Asgard_, he muses to himself. _He is so damn tall…_

"I am just Loki here…" he said to him, and held out a hand for the captain to shake.

The Captain stares at him skeptically, and Phaedra clicked her tongue.

Immediately, he raises his hand. He did not want to make Phaedra angry.

Ever.

Her starlight powers are at their full peaks at her age right now. It would destroy him from the inside out if she ever so wishes to.

"Well, Just Loki, I am Steve Rogers… and I am the brother of Phaedra…" he said to him, and chided his name. "**Big **brother…" he emphasized the 'big' and Loki smiles at him generously.

Loki smirked_. They are brothers and sister after all…_

Phaedra and the rest of them had their lunch at the dining hall. The air is tense, and Steve repeatedly looks up and stares at Loki in such a way that made Loki sighs into his food.

And Phaedra knew about it too.

Just when Steve is staring up again, Phaedra slapped her hand on the table and surprises him out of his bowl of soup.

"Will you stop it!?" Phaedra scolded Steve. "Loki is a guest! Don't aggravate him anymore than he is right now!"

"I aggravate him!?" Steve said incredulously. "I aggravate him!? Oh, so right now I'm the bad guy right?"

"I did not mean that, and you knew it!" Phaedra fires back angrily.

"You mean it, and you know it!" Steve said to her angrily.

"Steve, you stop this right now or I am so gonna-"

"Gonna what?" Steve stood up and stares at Phaedra. "Gonna blast me with your starlight again?"

With that, Phaedra smiles mischievously.

"No…" she started. "But I'm not going to bring you to anymore Honey Cottons anymore…"

Steve's eyes blinked. And his expression changes.

"P-Phaedra…" he started pleadingly, but Phaedra ignores him.

Phaedra's siblings giggles into their little hands. They knew Steve loves Honey Cottons more than anything in the world…

"Oh, Loki, would you like some Honey Cottons!? Come, let's go to the Academy and leave Captain America here on house duty!" she said to him, and dragged him up from his seat and out of the dining hall.

Naturally, Steve follows her.

"Phaedra… darling… my sweet, sweet princess," he started, and Phaedra ignores him still.

"Honey… dear… my most beloved… sweet sister…" he said again, and she turns her head around to look at him.

"Yes, dear brother? What can I help you?" she started with a wide grin on her face.

And Steve knew.

"You play me out!" Steve said with a wide grin and started to tickle her. "You play me out, you little minx!"

"Stop it!" she said to him and ran from him. Steve chases her and bundles her up into his arms and threw her onto his back.

"Steve! Put me down this instant!"

"Honey Cottons," Steve said to her. She huffed.

And he dropped her further back to his back, and her head hung dangerously off the floor. She screams.

"Alright, alright!" she exclaims to him, and he settles her gently down onto the ground.

"Honey Cottons?" she said to him, and Steve smiles widely at her.

The children are sent to the academy, and after they have entered the academy, Phaedra brought the two men to the Honey Cotton stalls.

"Oh, oh, oh!" Phaedra chimed. "Sugared Sweet Potatoes!"

She orders three bowls, and there, Loki and Steve watches how she ate with the potatoes.

They are served with a hot melted brown sugar, and the potatoes are cold. When she pours the sugar on top of the potatoes, it made a loud 'Crack! Crack!' sound and it crystallizes into a brown sheet of sugar.

"This is amazing…" Steve said to her, and wolfs down his potatoes. "Amazing! Food here tastes so much better than food at New York…"

"You are still working for S.H.I.E.L.D, I see…" Phaedra said to him. He smiles at her gingerly.

"I know it's dangerous, but at least I get to serve my country…" he said to her, and smiles up at her.

"But you are my brother too…" she said to him sadly. "I don't wish to see you hurt…"

Steve smiles at her. "I won't, little princess… I'll be safe…"


	7. Fireworks

**7 – Fireworks**

Phaedra's children are unexpectedly smart. They scored high marks in Stardust Academy, and with it, they manages to get into the academy's president list.

And that is Phaedra herself.

She is the Grand Director of the Stardust Academy. She did not go to the academy often, for there is already a director there to help her with the things in the academy.

At night, Phaedra would sit in the library doing her work, while Loki would continue to read his magical books.

And sometimes, he would come and sit with her, and they would talk for long hours.

"When I was a child," Phaedra started with a small nostalgic smile. "The stars came to me. It spoke to me in the most beautiful voice ever… like the streams of water in the mountains, and like bells, and like the soft sound of the wind on wind chime. It was beautiful…"

She looks up at Loki, and smiles at him. "It told me that I am Starlight, and I am destined to do great things with someone. But it didn't tell me who it was, only that the person came from the stars…"

"Came from the stars…?" Loki repeated the phrase.

Phaedra nodded her head. "Yes, that person came from the stars. He would help me, and we will build a great kingdom together."

Loki smiles widely. He knew who the man who came from the stars is.

Him.

And he smiles wider when she looked at him.

"I came to know my starlight powers when I am 5. Now that I am 1100 years old, my powers grew with my age, and my brothers here are still so young… so young…" Phaedra said to him.

"Your blood brothers, Peter and Edward… are they your real brothers?" he asks her curiously.

She nodded her head.

"They are 100 years old now… they grew slowly due to the power of starlight in them. Boys mature slower than girls in our family…"

"I am much older than you then," he smirked at her. "I am almost millennia years old. I live forever with the power of Asgard in me. I am a mortal now, but I still have some of the power of Asgard in me…"

When they went out of the library, they stumbles into the boys, who carried huge round cones with their small hands. As per usual, the youngest one stumbles with their short little legs with the older children. Loki laughed heartily at the funny sight and covers his mouth with his hand, and Phaedra hit his arms.

"Don't laugh, Loki…" she said to him, and chuckles as the youngest one stumbles again. It is truly an adorable and funny sight to behold. His legs are short and stubby, and when the older children walk faster, he would stumble again and again on his short legs. Loki laughed heartily at the sight, and Phaedra, too, laughs with him.

They place the cones on the grounds in front of the huge lawn of the Pearl Garden and lit the end of it with fire. The cones erupted in a massive firework, and it is a magnificent sight to behold.

"This is so beautiful…" Phaedra said to them, and they beamed up at her.

"Who made it?" Phaedra asks her children and her brothers. They giggle, and the children shyly walk up to her and told her everything.

"We made it for you, Lady Princia…" little Peter said to her, and beams up at her when she patted their heads.

"This is marvelous… what a genius, boy!" she praises them, and they rubbed their small little feet on top of their other feet shyly.

"They call it fireworks in my place…" Loki told her, and she smiles up at him.

"Really?" Phaedra said to him. "They look like stars…"

"It does…" Loki said to her, and stares at her as she admires the fireworks. She looks beautiful under the lights of the fireworks, and she is the star.

Starlight…

Starlight Princess…

And he is irrevocably in love with her…

That night, Loki told Phaedra everything. From his birth, to how he came to be like this.

"I am a monster that Odin picked up from the Bitfrost. I am the son of Laufey, the Bitfrost King. He abandoned me. So I killed him. He threatened the peace in Asgard…"

He looked up at her, and stares into her beautiful pair of silvery eyes.

"I am Loki Laufeyson…" he said to her.

"Laufeyson?" she said to him in confusion. "Not Odinson?"

He flexed his powers for her, and then and there, he transformed into a monster.

He turns blue, and his eyes were red. He looked into the mirror, and covers his face with his own hand. He is ashamed of what he is, and that is why he wanted to destroy the Bitforst once and for all…

He turns away from her, ashamed that she would look at him with those huge silvery eyes. Her eyes were wide, and they are sparkling. He is ashamed, and he closes his eyes tightly, wishing that this is just another piece of his constant dreams of her.

"Loki…" she said to him, and pulls his head to face her gently. "Don't be ashamed of whom you are…"

"I am a monster…" he said to her, looking away from her and from the mirror. He is ashamed. He doesn't wish for her to see him like this.

But she had to know.

She had to know that he is a monster…

A monster.

A bloody Bitfrost monster…

And when he opens his eyes, he is surprised.

She smiles.

She is smiling at him with her blindingly beautiful smile, and she is touching his face softly.

And gently.

Like a mother does to her beloved child…

_And so the little boy fell into a sleep_

_The stars to watch over him, forever in a dream_

_One by one, it shines_

He remembers her song, and he remembers that the boy fell asleep and the stars watched over him forever as he dreams… and one by one, the stars shine.

The stars shine on him…

"I am a monster…" he said to her disbelievingly. "Why aren't you afraid of me?"

She palms his face gently and kisses his forehead. His blue skin dissolves, and he is human again.

"I've seen worst…" she said to him with a smile, and held his hand gently in hers as she leads him back up to his room and bids him goodnight.

"Sleep well, Loki. I will see you in the morning?" she asks him, and he nods his head.

She smiles, and she turns.

And he couldn't help it.

He stares at her retreating back, and before he knew it, he already enveloped her in his embrace from behind.

And he sheds his tears for the second time in his life in front of her.

"Thank you…" he said to her, taking in deep breaths of her womanly scent. It was lilies, and it smelled wonderful. "Thank you…for not… for not…"

Phaedra turns around and enveloped him in her arms. Her small arms, and yet so warm and so safe. He felt safe, and for once, he felt as if he is in the right place, and he belonged here…

He belonged here…

"Loki, don't think too much alright? Just rest… I'll see you in the morning… alright?" she said to him, and leads him back to his room. She tucked him into his bed and swipes his dark locks to the back of his head.

"Sleep…" she said to him gently, and she begins to sing…

_And so the little boy fell into a sleep_

_The stars to watch over him, forever in a dream_

_One by one, it shines_

_Rise up and open your eyes look into the beautiful world_

_Into that beloved face_

_Suspended from the earth in thousands of star lights and dreams_

_On the night when those silver eyes trembled_

_You were born, shining brightly like the stars_

_No matter how many prayers are made_

_It returns to the earth by the passing millions of years_

_That it took me to love…_

_I shall continue to pray_

_No matter what, I will shower this child with love_

_And kiss on the hands upon the stars_

_I swear on the stars_

It is Peter and Edward's birthday the day after tomorrow. Phaedra invited the high ministers into her home and they have a great party there. As per usual, Steve is there as well.

He brought them huge remote controlled airplanes, and he also brought one for the rest of Phaedra's children as well. They were happy to be able to see Captain America in this time of the Era, and screams excitedly at the sight of the captain smiling down at them.

"Gaia?" Phaedra calls into the air. A woman dressed in a dark green outfit with golden leaves upon her crown of braided dark red hair appears in front of her in a transparent silhouette.

"So this is Gaia!?" one of her ministers exclaims in delight. "Oh, I've heard about her greatness, but I've never seen her up close myself! This is wonderful!"

"I do not often summon Gaia for nothing," Phaedra said to the minister nicely. "Gaia is guarding the kingdom's power source. She needs to be out of the Garden once in a while…"

"Loki?" she calls him. He came to her side immediately. "This is Gaia. She is Artificial Intelligence Number 777. She is the first of her kind in the whole world, although I have heard of the great Methuselah Golden City at the Far East side of the world having the same Artificial Intelligence made by a young genius boy named Syaoran, the adopted son of the great Female Prime Minister there, Shiratoe Saya. Gaia guards the kingdom and the Pearl Garden, and is my personal assistant in all ways. She is a very capable Artificial Intelligence of her kind."

"You're Grace, Lord Loki," Gaia gave them a bow and said in her musical tone. She is beautiful, and Loki is impressed.

He had never seen an Artificial Intelligence of work before in his millennia of lifetime. To be able to see one while he is in the human world is something to behold to…

"You may precede, Gaia," she said to the Artificial Intelligence, and the transparent woman shuts off all lights with her powers.

Everyone screams.

And suddenly…

"Happy birthday to you… happy birthday to you…" Sebastian and William came bearing a huge cake for the two twins birthday. They beamed up at the butlers, and scrambles to see the cake.

"Happy birthday to Peter and Edward, happy birthday to you!"

The rest of the children lit up their homemade fireworks, and it shoots impressive fire display of colors like shooting stars.

"Oh, marvelous!" the ministers said to Phaedra. "What is this!?"

"This is called a firework, Minister," Phaedra said to him. "My children and brothers made it together…"

"They made it!?" the minister gawked. "Why, this is such genius work! Genius!"


	8. Thor

**8 - Thor**

While Loki is living happily with Phaedra, Thor, on the other hand, is anxious.

He is worried if Loki is regaining his powers. He could feel it through their bond as brothers, and he could feel his powers coming back on full swing.

And he is dangerous.

With the repair of the rainbow bridge, he once again travels to the world where Loki is. He couldn't find him anywhere, but Heimdal did mention that he saw Loki in a beautiful pearl place.

"You!" Thor barked to nearby passersby. The man shivers with fear at the sight of the bulky man. "Where is the place where there are a lot of pearls?"

"Y-you mean the Pearl Garden, sire?" the man stuttered fearfully. "The Duchess lives there. Her Grace, and her brothers and new children and a… a man… she brought back a man. He is her new advisor and the children's new tutor…"

"Thank you," Thor said to the man, and marches towards the Pearl Garden.

Thor couldn't enter the Pearl Garden. There is this strange golden barrier surrounding the place, and he heaves his Myolnir up and destroys the barrier surrounding the mansion.

Phaedra is surprised with the barrier crumbling down so rapidly after she had rebuilt it so soon. Her brothers and children scream in fear, and she calls on her trusted assistant.

"Gaia!" she exclaims, and the Artificial Intelligence appears and ushers the children into an underground tunnel of safety.

She rushes out, and only to see Loki being beaten out of his life by a very buff man.

"You are up to something no good again, brother!" Thor exclaims.

"Stop it, Thor!" Loki exclaims, and receives a punch into his face.

"Thor?" Phaedra mumbles.

Thor threw Loki into the pillars, and he crumbles in pain and bleeds blood from his mouth.

When he launches in to punch him in the face again, Phaedra appears in front of Loki and protected him with her body.

And Thor stopped his fist.

"Get out of the way, woman!" he exclaims.

Phaedra glows, and Thor is so astounded with it that he stares at her with his wide eyes. She screams one shrill scream, and Thor is thrown backward by the power of starlight that Phaedra wields.

"Loki," she calls him and palms his face gently. "Are you alright?"

"I-I'm good…" he stuttered, and struggles to stand up.

"Gaia!" Phaedra calls, and the transparent woman appears by her side immediately.

"I am Artificial Intelligence Number 777, Gaia. Orders from her grace destroy Thor. Destroy Thor, destroy Thor. Encoding data… loading… loading… loading… loaded. Data loaded. Searching target… target found… locked in sight… target locked."

"Commence Order, Gaia," Phaedra said to the Artificial Intelligence.

"No! Wait!" Loki said to her, and Phaedra held up a hand to stop Gaia from launching her bullets. "Wait, Phaedra… he… he… he's Thor… the God of Thunder!"

"I know, and he is trying to kill you!" Phaedra said to him.

"Stop, please…" Loki said to her, and Thor is surprised.

Loki? Begging to a woman?

"I am bringing you back, brother. Father wants to have an audience with you…" Thor said to him, and grabbed his hair. Loki grunted.

"No!" Phaedra threw herself at Loki, and they ascended up to Asgard with Heimdal's powers.

"Welcome back, Thor, Loki…" Heimdal said to the both of them, and is surprised to see another woman holding on tightly to Loki's midsection.

"Phaedra?" Loki calls her. "You are safe now…"

Phaedra opens her eyes, and is astounded to find she staring at the rainbow bridge. There are golden buildings everywhere, and everything is beautiful.

"Why is she here?" Thor snapped.

"An accident?" Loki said, and helped Phaedra up from crouching on the ground.

"Phaedra, why are you here?" Loki asks her, and she looks up into his green eyes.

"I… I wanted to save you…" she said to him, and he smiles.

"I am more than capable of staying alive for other millennia or so… but thank you for the kind thought…"

Now that Thor looked properly, the woman is a beautiful one. She had strings of pearls weaved into her hair, and lace that covers her bare shoulders up till her wrist and her deep blue dress is doing her beauty more than it does her good. She is beautiful.

"I am Thor," Thor introduces himself to her and kissed the back of her hand. She withdrew her hand and slapped him on his face.

"Don't you dare touch me, you brute!" she said to him, and Loki laughs happily.

"Oh, my dear brother. I rejoice the day when another girl would reject your advances…" Loki said happily, and barks out a laugh.

"Shut it, brother…" Thor said, and leads Loki and Phaedra to the halls of the Kings. "You brought yourself a spicy one…"

"Oh, she is spicy enough…" Loki said to him quietly. "And so hot sometimes that I couldn't hold it in myself as well…"

"Hot?" Thor said incredulously. "Hot?"

"Hot, you know?" Loki said to him. "It's the new term in the human language. It means sexy…"

"Oh… hot…" Thor said to him. "Yeah… she is hot…"

"Very hot…" Loki said to him and smiles as Phaedra turns around to look at him.

"Oh, Loki, everything is so beautiful here…" Phaedra said to him and smiles happily at the sight of the beautiful golden buildings. "So beautiful…"

"Welcome to Asgard…" Thor said to her, and leads them into the halls of the kings.

There, Odin sat on his golden throne, waiting for the arrival of his sons.

"Loki," Odin calls with his booming voice.

"Father…" Loki said scathingly. He did not like how things turn out. Phaedra is in Asgard by accident. How are they supposed to go back now?

"You brought back a human with you now I suppose?" Odin said to him.

"Hey, watch what you're saying!" Phaedra snapped angrily back. "I am not human! I am Starlight!"

Odin stood up. "Starlight?"

"Release Loki at once! He has done nothing wrong!" Phaedra snapped back, and Odin came to her.

He held her hand in his, and reads up her memories with his powers. When he is done, he releases her hand gently.

"I thought starlights are extinct…?" Odin told her, and Phaedra laughs.

"We starlights live a long life. We are not extinct, I can assure you…"

Odin nods his head in understanding. He turns towards Loki and asks him in a low voice.

"Loki?" he started. "Are you doing well in the human world?"

Loki chuckles. "I would have said no once, but I'm doing great, father…"

Odin's eyes are teary when he heard Loki once again call him 'father'. He patted Loki's face and said to him, "You've matured up, I see… good… good…"

"We saw you scavenging for food, Loki…" Thor said to him, and Loki turns around to look at him.

"I… did…" he said slowly. "Those earlier months were horrible. Snow is everywhere, and I felt cold and pain for the first time… but she… she… this starlight…" Loki gestured his hand to her. "She brought me home and gave me a home to stay, no questions asked…"

He goes to her, and held her hand in his. He kisses the back of her hand lovingly, and Phaedra stares up at him. "I love this woman, father… I love her so very much…"

"Loki…" Phaedra calls his name. He stares into her silvery grey eyes, and she is beautiful.

"Phaedra…" he said her name. "I've loved you since the very first time I saw you on the streets. You were wearing a red cloak, and you have pearls in your hair. You are so beautiful, and I fell… I fell… and I fell…"

And with that confession done, Loki's powers are returned to him. In the times when he had stayed with her, he had learned to be humble, and to learn the ways of a human. She has teaches him a great many things, and amongst them, how to love.

He loves her, and Odin granted him back his powers in full swing. He is once again the God Loki…

"I wishes to stay with her, father…" Loki said to Odin with a bow.

"You… don't want to return?" Odin asks him.

Loki smiles. "I want to spend an eternity with her…"

Odin looks at Loki. Loki had on a natural smile on his face, and he looks so young and innocent as he smiles at Phaedra. Phaedra, too, smiles at him, and with it, Odin smiles.

"Very well…" he said to them. "Heimdal will send you back to the place you belong. You may come back if you wishes to, Loki, and be good…"

"I will, father," Loki said to him with a chuckle, and he leads Phaedra to the gateways.

And saw Thor there.

"You are not going to leave me here all alone, right brother?" Thor said to him, and with a smile, Heimdal launches the sword into the gateway, and they are transported back to the Kingdom of Avice.


	9. Kingdom's Dance

**9 – Kingdom Dance**

Thor returns to Phaedra's world with Loki and Phaedra herself by the powers of Heimdal. Thor ate everything Phaedra's chef made, and asked for more.

"Ah, ah, ah!" Loki said to him when Thor raises his empty glass and prepares to slam it on the floor. "No slamming here. That is a rare crystal goblet. It is priceless…"

"Oh," Thor said to him and stares at the crystal goblet. "I didn't know such things exist. Hahaha! More!"

The chef brought out more food for Thor, and he ate everything. Phaedra's brothers and children stares at him with an awed expression, and swarms around him when he laughs heartily at some jokes Loki is spewing.

"Looks like you do have a good life here, Loki…" Thor said to him, and just in cue, Steve came in through the portals, and Phaedra is there to greet him.

"Phaedra!" Steve calls her, swinging her in his arms.

"Brother!" Phaedra calls him as well, and laughs when he spins her in his arms.

"Is that…" Thor started with one finger pointing at the Captain.

"He is Steve Rogers, half brother of Phaedra…" Loki told him, and Thor had his jaws dropped open in shock.

"Brother!?" Thor exclaims, and Steve heard it.

And saw Thor.

"YOU!" Steve exclaims happily, and threw himself into Thor's arms. "Great to see you again, Thor!"

"Great to see you too, brother!" Thor said to him and patted his back in a friendly way. "Come! Sit down and eat with me!"

"This is my home and here he is, commanding my own brother to eat…" Phaedra chided with a sour expression. She still couldn't get used to Thor's presence in her manor, not since he had tried to seduce her with a stupid kiss on the back of her hand. How insolent…

"I came because there is a festival coming up soon in the kingdom…" Steve said to Thor, and Thor chocked on his beer.

"F-festival!?" Thor said with his eyes wide open. Oh, he loves festivals! All the girls and the flowers and the… Oh… the pussies…

He salivated.

"Yeah. There is a festival coming up soon. It is made for the kingdom's coming of power. They will start it… in… like… this afternoon?" Steve said to him.

"Wonderful!" Thor said to him. "We shall all go to the festival!"

The children and Phaedra's brothers exclaims happily and runs upstairs to change their clothes. Phaedra shakes her head at the sight of the children with a smile, and asks William to prepare the carpool for them.

"What is this?" Thor asks Loki.

"It is called a car… a limousine…" Loki explains to him.

"Which one is it? Car or limou?" Thor asks him incredulously and gets into the limousine.

"A car is a car. A limousine is the types of car. Gosh, and here I thought Jane had thought you things…" Loki said to him.

"Speaking of Jane," Thor said to Loki. "She has been asking about you. Said something about her friend Darcy is trying to get you into bed with her…"

Loki laughed out loud. "I am sure she won't want me in bed with her after she knew just how badass I am…"

"Well, you are not a badass right now…" Thor said to him, and leans into him to whisper the rest of his sentence. "But I am sure Lady Starlight won't take it too kindly when she found out that some girls request you to sleep with them…"

Loki slapped Thor's hand and he laughed heartily.

They arrived at the center of the kingdom, where the festival is held. Many people were there, and Phaedra dragged Loki there to the festival to enjoy everything there.

"Oh, this is wonderful!" Phaedra said to Loki and Steve, and brought up the flowers and places it in her hair. She has dressed herself normally in her simple peach colored dress, and it looks beautiful on her. Her skirt came up to her mid calf, and there are short transparent wide sleeves that hung like bellflowers on her shoulders. Her hair did not have pearls in it. Instead, it is done in a long, long braid and she bought the flowers and asks the girls to pin the flowers to her hair.

"How do I look?" Phaedra asks Loki and Thor. Thor blushes up and was preparing to go up and kiss her hand before Steve stopped him. Loki smiles and places another flower into her hair.

"You look beautiful, Phaedra…" he said to her, and she blushes.

They walked, and some people are playing music. Phaedra is excited to hear the kingdom's music, and went up to have a dance.

"Phaedra?" Loki calls, and finds her not standing behind him. He looked around with Thor and Steve, and found her dancing in the centre of the town square.

She spins around, and her hair follows her every movement languidly. She closes her eyes and spins with her face facing up the sky, and she is beautiful.

People begin to join her dancing in the town square, and soon, the whole town square is full of people dancing the kingdom's dance.

Loki, Steve and Thor are each pulled into the dance by the people there. And unexpectedly, Loki ended up dancing with Phaedra.

"Well, hello there!" Phaedra said happily, dancing in Loki's arms.

"You are beautiful when you dance like that…" Loki said to her with a wide smile.

"Thank you!" Phaedra said to him. "I love dancing!"

She spins out of his arms and jumped into the air. Lifting her skirt up, she dances across the town square and came right into his arms again, smiling up at him widely.

The dance ended with a round of applause from the towns people. Everyone is happy to have danced through the festival, and they clapped their hands loudly.

"That is one of the best festivals I've been through!" Thor said loudly and happily at his friends and brothers. Loki laughed with him. "Best one ever!"

"Wait till you get Honey Cottons!" Phaedra said to him, and orders four Honey Cottons. Her children are somewhere else with her brothers, and she is sure that they would be safe in the kingdom.

Thor delights himself with the Honey Cottons. He liked the taste of the sweets, and took in more and more and more.

"This is delicious!" Thor said to her, and she smiles.

Loki and Phaedra manages to ditch Thor and Steve, and ran laughing out loud to a nearby oak tree. They climbed up the tree, and Loki helped Phaedra up to the tree.

"Gosh, your legs are so short…" Loki chided her with a smile.

"Am not!" Phaedra said to him angrily.

Loki laughed heartily and they sat down on the branches. The sight from the tree gave them the whole view of the kingdom's town square, and with the festival going on, the lights looked beautiful.

"It's so beautiful here…" Phaedra said to Loki.

Loki, on the other hand, is staring at her. She looks so beautiful with flowers in her hair. And when Phaedra turns around to look at him, she is surprised that he is staring at her with such a look in his eyes.

"You are beautiful too…" Loki said to her, his eyes smoldering, and he leans in.

For the first time in her life, someone is kissing her. Loki kisses her passionately, and moves his lips over and over her lips.

They broke apart, and Loki rests his forehead against hers.

"I love you…" Loki said to her, and she smiles widely at him. "I love you so very much… so very much…"

"I… love you… too…" Phaedra said shyly, and Loki's heart soared into the sky in happiness…

They walked back to the festival to find Thor and Steve, and saw them happily playing shooting target games.

"Hey!" Thor calls. "This is fun!"

"Loki…" Phaedra calls him, and Loki looks at where Phaedra is staring.

The children walked towards her, and behind them trail a little boy with an eye bandage. He is barefooted, and by the state of his clothes, Phaedra sums it to herself that he is a beggar boy.

"Phaedra…" her brothers called to her softly in a small voice. "We found him by the back alley… he is hungry…"

"Lady Princia…" Noah calls to her in a small voice. "Please… he is starving…"

"Oh, you poor little thing…" Phaedra said to the little beggar boy. She extends one hand to him and said to him, "Come boy, I won't hurt you. Come here please…"

The boy walks up to her awkwardly and shyly, and Phaedra wipes his dirty face with her handkerchief. "Where do you come from boy? Do you have a place to stay? What is your name?"

"Loki…" Thor started when he saw the boy. "This boy…"

"Phaedra used to bring back little lost boys to her home and adopts them. Michael, Noah, James and Arthur are all her adopted children. Peter and Edward are her blood brothers…" Loki explains to him.

Thor had a new look on the lady. The world is a harsh place. It is not a strange thing to see a beggar boy on the streets. He would have passed them by without paying them much attention. But here he is, standing in front of someone who stretches out her hand to a beggar boy without an ounce of another thought. He never thought that someone can be so kind here in this wretched world. He stood there and stares as she saves the little poor beggar boy from starvation.

What a kind lady to behold… kind starlight…

She bought him a piece of bread, and he ate it heartily.

"Slowly boy, slowly…" Phaedra said to him, and strokes his head gently. The boy had tears in his eyes when he ate the bread, and he started to bawl into his meal.

"M-My name… my name is F-Foster…" the boy sobbed to her. Phaedra wipes his tears away. "I… I-I… I have no home… no parents… my… My mother… they said my mother left me by the trash site… when- when I was a baby… waaaaaa!"

The boy is young, awfully young… probably just 4 or 5 years old. Such a young child to be on the streets begging for food… Phaedra patted the boy's head and asks him again.

"Who hurt you boy?" Phaedra asks him. There are bruise marks on his face, and he appears to have been slapped by someone repeatedly. She grasped his chin gently and turns his head from side to side. "You look awful… tell me… don't be afraid, boy… I will hurt those that hurt you…"

The boy sobbed and wipes his eyes with his hand. "Well… I… I-I… I was hungry… the man dropped his bun… so I thought I can eat it… but he kicked me… and said I stole his buns…"

The boy sobbed again, and Phaedra gave a look to the three men standing behind her. Steve got what she means, and went up ahead to find the guy who had hit the boy and cracked his knuckles.

This is no way to hurt a small child just for the sake of food.

Phaedra lifts up the child into her arms and brought him to her car. She introduces herself to him, and the boy is astounded.

"I am Phaedra Sterling," she said to him. "I am the Duchess of Memphis in Avice, our great Kingdom. I watch over the histories of the world, and write them in great volumes. I am also the Ambassador of the great Kingdom of Avice, the kingdom of forever and of eternity. You will come and live with me in my Pearl Garden, which is the most beautiful mansion in the whole world, even more beautiful than the Palace of the Great King, the Golden Palace, and I will care for you… you have other siblings like Peter, Edward, Noah, James and Arthur to be with you now. You won't have to walk this life alone anymore, Foster… you will be with us, and you will be happy…"

The boy bawls into her shoulders, and she patted his back. Thor came and offered to carry the boy, and Phaedra transfers the boy into his arms.

"Do you wanna see something awesome?" Thor asks the boy. The boy sobbed, and nodded his head awkwardly.

Thor smiles and lifts up his Myolnir. Myolnir rises up into the air and floats there all by itself at its own will. The boy's eyes bulged wide open, and Thor chuckles at the sight of his astounded face.

"You are Thor!?" the boy said to him. "Thor the great Thunder God?"

"The very same," Thor said to the boy, and the boy stopped crying. "Pleased to meet you, Foster boy."


End file.
